5 ms·

I can't even begin to comprehend a country whose citizens don't want the dirt on their government. There is exponentially less incentive to lie to citizens of o

I can't even begin to comprehend a country whose citizens don't want the dirt on their government. There is exponentially less incentive to lie to citizens of other countries than your own.

solarengineer 10y ago
Wow, how well put. It is appalling that citizens are scared of the dirty laundry that might come out, and are instead prepared to look the other way :(
- peller 10y ago
  Just to be clear, I was speaking from (what I imagine is) the perspective of America's leaders. Regardless, there is a non-zero chance that the result of unknown secrets being exposed could be anarchy instead of a better-functioning democracy.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- Spooky23 10y ago
  Deniability is a powerful thing. How many disputes have been settled in the shadows? Remember this is 2016, not 1916. Revelation and escalation don't lead to a mere slaughter of soldiers, but potentially destruction of civilization as we know it.
- pbz 10y ago
  That happens when you link your identity with your tribe's identity. A lot of people in the US bought into the propaganda that we're the best or better than others. All that dirt surfacing would be an attack against that identity. It would force us to reconsider and reevaluate, which is a painful process if it requires changing one's identity.
anigbrowl 10y ago
Not wanting your elections to be hacked doesn't mean not wanting dirt on the government. It's not like we got to read all the juicy dirt on both parties, in which case I'd be more OK with it, though not completely. But when you're only selectively provided with dirt as some external actor sees fit to reveal then you're being played to some extent. I feel I've been pretty consistent about this as opposed to being partisan; I had a minor spat with Assange over his choices about his approach to editorial framing back when WL was first revealing helicopter footage from Iraq. Wl is a new kind of publishing outlet, but no more neutral or disinterested than the more traditional kind.

I can't even begin to comprehend a country whose citizens don't want the dirt on their government. There is exponentially less incentive to lie to citizens of other countries than your own.

solarengineer 10y ago

Wow, how well put. It is appalling that citizens are scared of the dirty laundry that might come out, and are instead prepared to look the other way :(

peller 10y ago
Just to be clear, I was speaking from (what I imagine is) the perspective of America's leaders. Regardless, there is a non-zero chance that the result of unknown secrets being exposed could be anarchy instead of a better-functioning democracy.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
Spooky23 10y ago
Deniability is a powerful thing. How many disputes have been settled in the shadows? Remember this is 2016, not 1916. Revelation and escalation don't lead to a mere slaughter of soldiers, but potentially destruction of civilization as we know it.
pbz 10y ago
That happens when you link your identity with your tribe's identity. A lot of people in the US bought into the propaganda that we're the best or better than others. All that dirt surfacing would be an attack against that identity. It would force us to reconsider and reevaluate, which is a painful process if it requires changing one's identity.

anigbrowl 10y ago

Not wanting your elections to be hacked doesn't mean not wanting dirt on the government. It's not like we got to read all the juicy dirt on both parties, in which case I'd be more OK with it, though not completely. But when you're only selectively provided with dirt as some external actor sees fit to reveal then you're being played to some extent. I feel I've been pretty consistent about this as opposed to being partisan; I had a minor spat with Assange over his choices about his approach to editorial framing back when WL was first revealing helicopter footage from Iraq. Wl is a new kind of publishing outlet, but no more neutral or disinterested than the more traditional kind.